Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) Shares Up 4.8% Following Strong Earnings

Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) shares shot up 4.8% on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $180.10 and last traded at $179.39. 341,235 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 272,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.10.

The transportation company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.04. Landstar System had a return on equity of 26.73% and a net margin of 4.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LSTR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Landstar System from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Landstar System from $171.00 to $166.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna cut their price target on Landstar System from $170.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Landstar System from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Landstar System from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.55.

Insider Transactions at Landstar System

In related news, VP Michael K. Kneller sold 12,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.30, for a total transaction of $2,325,275.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 61,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,632,468.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Landstar System

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Landstar System during the first quarter worth about $27,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Landstar System by 209.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 192 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Landstar System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Landstar System in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Landstar System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 97.95% of the company’s stock.

Landstar System Stock Up 4.8 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.53. The company has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

About Landstar System

Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Transportation Logistics and Insurance. The Transportation Logistics segment offers a range of transportation services, including truckload and less-than-truckload transportation, rail intermodal, air cargo, ocean cargo, expedited ground and air delivery of time-critical freight, heavy-haul/specialized, U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico cross-border, intra-Mexico, intra-Canada, project cargo, and customs brokerage, as well as offers transportation services to other transportation companies, such as third party logistics and less-than-truckload services.